Polk defeats Clay, elected president 170 years ago today (Dec 4 1844)

December 4, 20141840s, U.S. Presidentsadmin

Video: 'Election of 1844'

(Wednesday, December 4, 1844, during the 1844 presidential campaign) — Former Governor and former U.S. House Speaker James K. Polk of Tennessee was elected President of the United States today, defeating Whig challenger Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky.

Polk and his running mate, former Senator George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania, received 49.5% of the national popular vote. Clay and his running mate, former Senator Theodore Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, received 48.1%.

The 1844 popular vote results translated into an Electoral College victory of 170-105 for Polk-Dallas, who would be sworn in to a four-year term on March 4, 1845.

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2014: Barack Obama-Joe Biden
2004: ^George W. Bush-Dick Cheney
1994: Bill Clinton-Al Gore
1984: Ronald Reagan-George H.W. Bush
1974: Richard Nixon-#Gerald Ford
1964: >Lyndon B. Johnson-(vacant)
1954: Dwight D. Eisenhower-Richard Nixon
1944: Franklin D. Roosevelt-Henry A. Wallace
1934: Franklin D. Roosevelt-John N. Garner
1924: >Calvin Coolidge-(vacant)
1914: Woodrow Wilson-Thomas R. Marshall
1904: >Theodore Roosevelt-(vacant)
1894: Grover Cleveland-Adlai Stevenson I
1884: >Chester A. Arthur-(vacant)
1874: Ulysses S. Grant-Henry Wilson
1864: Abraham Lincoln-Hannibal Hamlin
1854: Franklin Pierce-(vacant)
1844: >*John Tyler-(vacant)
1834: *Andrew Jackson-Martin Van Buren
1824: *James Monroe-Daniel D. Tompkins
1814: *James Madison-Elbridge Gerry
1804: *Thomas Jefferson-Aaron Burr
1794: *George Washington-John Adams

> Succeeded to the presidency intra-term upon death or resignation of predecessor
^ Elected without winning popular vote
# appointed VP under 25th Amendment
* Owned slaves while in office

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Polk defeats Clay, elected president 170 years ago today (Dec 4 1844)

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